The Heart Attack She Thought She'd Never Have

No one plans to have a heart attack, but on October 17, 2010 I had a massive one at age 52. I did have a serious family history of heart disease but I, as the youngest, wasn't on any blood pressure or cholesterol medications as of yet.

I call myself the "Heart Attack Don't" because I did everything wrong relating to my heart attack. First of all, in the weeks prior, I was having symptoms that I was ignoring, including severe headaches based in the back of my neck. I even went to a drug store and used a blood pressure machine there. When the machine registered 158 over 110, I believed that the machine had to be broken.

Secondly, when the heart attack occurred, I ignored it. I thought I had pulled my back out, the pain I felt was below my shoulder blade. I spent the night without waking my husband or calling 911. I didn't even do anything about it the next morning. After all, it must not really have been a heart attack because other than my energy level being zapped to nothing, I was fine, right? Wrong. I lost 65% of my heart muscle and almost had to have a heart transplant.

Warning Signs of a Heart Attack

Dizziness

Indigestion

Palpitations

Nausea

Vomiting

Chest Tightness

Pain in Neck

Pain in Arms

Shoulder Pain

Anxiety

Fatigue

Cough

Cold Sweat

Sleep Disturbance

Arm Weakness

Shortness of Breath

Light-Headedness

Fainting

Today one in three women will experience heart disease and many of these cases are preventable. WomenHeart, the National Coalition for Women Living With Heart Disease, promotes our mission to provide emotional support for women in group meetings held in hospitals and other settings all over the country. Our volunteers are all heart survivors and we believe in education and outreach to help prevent as many incidents of heart disease as we can.

Visit our Women and Heart Health Pinterest Board

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